Subservience

What follows is a wistful reflection on certain views held by Italian wine critics that I do not agree with. For the record, there are also some wine producers who share their opinions and do not see the error in their judgement and this is even worse. We are in the era of social media, one in which people post, often repeatedly, news and photographs on their own profiles. This not only allows their messages to be more easily understood but also lets them decide what they want to be understood. Taking this into consideration will help you understand how Italian wines are “read” on line.

The big question here is why are 80% of the wines subjects of posts by Italian critics and producers not Italian? And why is it that foreign journalists, in the other hand, review wines from many different countries?

French producers practically never post reviews of wines that are not French and never overrate them if they do.

It is undeniable that France is a point of reference for most Italian wine critics and producers, those who appear to have a limited awareness of the true state of Italian wine. What’s worse is more often than not they praise French wines, mostly from Burgundy, which are actually mediocre and do not reflect the top quality achieved in the areas they are from. As we have learned from Vinogodi’s articles on French wine and the piece our own Doctor Wine did on Pinot Noir, the better Burgundy whites and reds cost around 300 euros and thus not in most people’s price range.

All this does not mean that Italian producers of Pinot Noir, Chardonnay or sparkling wines should not drink those of their French ‘cousins, quite the contrary. Doing this is what I would define as “professional updating” and, what’s more, I think they should also sample more wines from the so-called New World including the Pinot Noir from Oregon and Chardonnay produced outside Europe. Doing this would not only expand their horizons in regard to Italian wines but also help them to better to understand their own country. In other words, dear producers, if you think drinking an average Pommard from a hot year will improve your wine awareness then you are way off track.

Another thing that bothers me is to see various Italian rosé producers not drink or draw attention to the wines of Provence, which are a point references for this product, but insist on focusing on Burgundy. The question that comes to my mind here is what purpose does it serve to publicize certain French wines on your Facebook page? Is the message you are sending something like: “drink this wine it’s better than mine?” The same goes for the producers of Italian sparkling wines who seem in awe of any Champagne, even those of questionable quality that cost less. Their message seems to be: this costs as much as mine but is better because it has ‘Champagne’ on the label, a name that certainly has greater appeal than Franciacorta, Oltrepò Pavese or Trentodoc. By doing this they are only scoring an own goal. The only Italian bubbly producers who do not post on their Facebook page or website just any Champagne but only the best and most expensive, are those who have had commercial success and created a style that even the French are copying, as is the case with bubbly for mixing.

What can be done about all this? First of all Italian producers and critics need to free themselves of this psychological subservience  and be proud of what Italy produces and where. They need to drink more Italian wines in order to get a clearer idea of what to do and how to do it. And the next time I hear an Italian producer praise his own wine because it is like something produced somewhere else, I’m going to punch him in the nose.

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